{"id":487909,"date":"2026-06-21T03:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T03:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/487909\/"},"modified":"2026-06-21T03:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T03:42:09","slug":"egypt-coach-denies-salah-rift-before-world-cup-match-against-new-zealand-world-cup-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/487909\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt coach denies Salah rift before World Cup match against New Zealand | World Cup 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"World<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2018If he starts \u2026 or if he gets substituted, it\u2019s fine \u2013 it is his role as a player,\u2019 Egypt \u200ccoach Hossam Hassan says.<\/p>\n

Published On 21 Jun 202621 Jun 2026<\/p>\n

Egypt \u200ccoach Hossam Hassan has dismissed talk of unrest involving talisman Mohamed Salah, insisting there \u2060were no issues \u2060within the squad as they prepare to face New Zealand in their crucial World Cup Group G match at BC Place, Vancouver.<\/p>\n

\u201cSalah is an important player for our squad, and the 26 players who are here with me \u200care very important,\u201d Hassan told reporters on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery player who has worked with me knows I deal with them in a professional manner. I do not have favourites.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salah, 34, scored nine \u2060goals in the qualifying campaign and provided an assist for Emam Ashour in their opener with Belgium.\u00a0He was substituted in the 76th minute of that 1-1 draw in Seattle, with \u2060highly-rated teenager Hamza Abdelkarim coming on.<\/p>\n

\"SoccerSalah walks off the pitch after getting substituted in the match against Belgium [Lee Smith\/Reuters]<\/p>\n

New Zealand also opened their campaign by sharing the points in a 2-2 draw with Iran in Los Angeles, leaving the group finely poised ahead of Sunday\u2019s encounter.<\/p>\n

Hassan insisted all was well in the Egyptian camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cSalah is a great player who helps his teammates. He has a lot of discipline and is a role model,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he starts \u2026 or if he gets substituted, it\u2019s fine. It is his role as a player. Everyone knows that I am working for the benefit of the \u2060team and the national side.<\/p>\n

\u201cRumours are being spread about stars, about \u2060players, about teams. But Salah is someone who is very disciplined,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe trains with us. He\u2019s the first player that would also say yes to my decisions as a technical director. So I think he will \u2060be very positive tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egypt and New Zealand are both targeting their first-ever World Cup win to boost their chances of reaching the knockout \u2060stage. The Egyptians are appearing in their fourth finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe \u2060want to present something very positive,\u201d Hassan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to show that we have talent, not as something new, but as something that the African national squads have always had as a tradition throughout generations of footballers in Africa, \u200cfor us and for international football.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe drew in the first match, and we want to win and secure these points. This is our ambition for tomorrow. This is the ambition \u200cof \u200cthe Egyptian people, for Egyptian football and for African football as well. We are representing all of these people, and we really hope to perform.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u2018If he starts \u2026 or if he gets substituted, it\u2019s fine \u2013 it is his role as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[19186,5213,5107,111,43,139,69,2022,162937],"class_list":["post-487909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-egypt","tag-football","tag-middle-east","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sport","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}